Page 3 - 6-26-15 Friday's Edition

Features
Mom Of Teen Killed At Party Endorses Gun Back-Buy Initiative
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Since the beginning of the year, there has been a sharp in- crease in violent deaths, with the majority being Black teenagers or young men. Dur- ing the month of March, there were 12 violent deaths in Hills- borough County, with 8 of them occurring in the city lim- its.
One of those individuals who died was 14-year-old Richard Newton, who was shot while attending a birthday party in Sulphur Springs. His murder remains unsolved.
His mother, Ms. Danielle Williams, has joined officials in endors- ing the daylong, anony- mous Gun Buy-Back Program that will take place on Saturday, June 27th, at the River Tower Park, 401 E. Bird Street.
Ms. Williams said, “I think this is a big step to ending some of the vio- lence.”
She further said that it is a first step and that peo- ple with information about these violent crimes should stop the “no
RICHARD NEWTON 9/20/2000 to 3/21/2015
snitching” policy.
The Gun Buy-Back Pro- gram is open to anyone in Hillsborough County who wishes to turn in a gun. Police will not ask any questions about where the gun came from.
During the exchange, po- lice will accept shotguns, as- sault rifles, and handguns.
Mobile teams will be avail- able during that time to pickup guns from residents who can- not transport the guns to the buy-back locations.
Individuals who turn in guns will also receive $50 in cash per gun surren-
dered.
The Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation contributed $50,000 for the program.
Since January 1st, Tampa Police officers have investi- gated more than 443 gun-re- lated crimes within the city limits. Eighteen of those inves- tigations were conducted by the Homicide Squad. Seven of those victims were under the age of 21, and two of the vic- tims were 14-year-olds. Two others were 16-year-olds.
City and community lead- ers are united in their goal to bring an end to gun violence.
The gun buy-back initiative is aimed at keeping deadly weapons out of the wrong hands. The gun buy-back ini- tiative is part of the Safe Sum- mer Program initiated by Mayor Buckhorn and Tampa Police Chief Eric Ward.
Mayor Buckhorn and Chief Ward are pleading with parents who are con- cerned that their child may have a firearm, to use the buy- back program as an opportu- nity to anonymously turn in guns they find in their posses- sion.
Church Massacre Causes Ministers To
Review Safety Policies
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last week, the world was shocked after a gunman shot and several people during Bible Study. The shooting has prompted local ministers to re- view their own security poli- cies.
During the shooting, the minister, Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, pastor of Em- manuel A. M. E. Church and South Carolina Senator, along with 8 of his parishioners were fatally wounded. The following day, police arrested 21-year- old Dylann Storm Roof and charged him with 9 counts of first-degree murder. He has al- legedly confessed to the crimes.
Some Tampa ministers shared their thoughts on secu- rity at their respective facili- ties.
Rev. Dr. Thomas Scott,
pastor of 34th Street Church Of God said, “Black churches have always had an open door pol- icy and have always been open to whites and no one has ques- tioned them. We’ve always been trusting.
“We have cameras around the daycare, but now we have started looking at placing cam- eras on the entire grounds. We may also look at some type of security, either private or law enforcement.”
Rev. Dr. David Green, Sr., pastor of Allen Temple A. M. E. Church said, “We are re- viewing our security policy and tweaking it in light of what is going on. You’re always going to have visitors because the church has an open door pol- icy.”
Pastor Moses Brown
said he was conducting Prayer Meeting at Mount Calvary Sev- enth Day Adventist Church at the same time the shooting took place in Charleston, South Carolina.
“We are becoming more vigilante as to whose there, but the doors will stay open. I hope this does not deter anyone from coming to Prayer Meet- ing.”
Pastor Antonio Hawkins of Exciting Faith Alive Church said, “We are ini- tiating training for our security team and we are launching an
Observation Initiative. The Observation team will be trained to look for suspicious activity. We are going to be aware of our surroundings and who is in church with us. We are also discussing hiring an off-duty officer to attend our service.”
REV. DR. THOMAS SCOTT
REV. DR. DAVID GREEN, SR.
PASTOR MOSES BROWN
PASTOR ANTONIO HAWKINS
FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-A